‘Words can’t describe the pain I feel’: Attorney for slain teen’s family issues statement
Todd Rutherford, the attorney for Cyrus Carmack-Belton’s family, issued a statement Wednesday about the 14-year-old’s killing, saying “it’s something that the Black community has experienced for generations.”
Carmack-Belton, an eighth grade student at Summit Parkway Middle School, was shot and killed Sunday night near a Columbia gas station on Parklane Road while trying to run away. The store’s owner has been charged with murder.
The owners of the gas station incorrectly suspected the teen of shoplifting, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
At one point Carmack-Belton removed four water bottles from a cooler, Sheriff Leon Lott said, but he put them back. Following an argument that began inside the store, Carmack-Belton took off running. While running, he fell, and was shot once in the back by one of the owners, the sheriff’s department said.
Lott said there is no evidence that Carmack-Belton stole anything from the store.
Rick Chow, the 58-year-old owner of the gas station, has been charged with murder, the sheriff’s department said.
Here is Rutherford’s statement:
“When Cyrus Carmack-Belton’s mother sent this picture to me I had to do a double take because he looked so much like my middle son. What happened to him wasn’t an accident: it’s something that the Black community has experienced for generations: being racially profiled, then shot down in the street like a dog. Words can’t describe the pain I feel having known this family for decades.
“One beacon of hope is seeing the resilience of the Black community as they wrap their arms around this family that has joined the club that no Black family ever wants to be a part of.
“As our firm moves forward with this case, we are working to ensure that justice prevails and work towards building a safer community for all residents of Columbia and the greater South Carolina area, regardless of race.
“This is why I can’t help but fight to ensure history isn’t whitewashed or forgotten. This isn’t an anomaly, but I know America can be better. And that is what we’re fighting for. Because no family should have to deal with this in 2023.”
